Hope all is going well in the world of flight adventures and otherwise. Recently Open Space and Mountain Parks was approached by three home owners on the eastern end of Pine Needle Drive. This is the private road that provides access to the gliding launch site trail off Pine Needle Road. The home owners asked that the private road leading to the trail access point only be accessed on foot and that automobiles no longer be permitted on the private road. Given that this portion of the road is private property, the city will honor their request and has replaced signage at the termination of the county public road stating “Private Road – Only Local Traffic Beyond this Point – Foot Traffic to Trail Access Allowed”. We are working with the county to see if their signage can better reflect that the road beyond the public road is indeed a private road. We are thankful that the land owners are still allowing pedestrian access along their private road, and we are looking into formalizing this agreement through a trail access easement.

I’m hopeful that RMHPA can help us in maintaining this good relationship with our neighbors by helping to spread the word about this change in allowed use. If there is information on your website, or other known outlets, where this change can be reflected, we’d greatly appreciate your attention to getting this updated.

I asked about giving special privileges to HG pilots and this was the response. Sorry guys I tried.

Benzie,

After having had a tour last fall with Chris Ratay, I understand the inconvenience of lugging the hang gliding equipment any further than one has to. Unfortunately, the road is a private road and the homeowners do not want any vehicles past the end of the county road where their private drive begins. As a private drive we must respect their rights and their concerns around emergency response access to their properties. We are hopeful to strike a pedestrian access easement with them that would formalize the access through their properties that we currently utilize. We are mindful that if we do not respect their desire for cars to not enter their road, we may jeopardize our access in full.

Thank you for your cooperation while knowing it will challenge hang gliders.

The message I sent out yesterday about the Boulder drive up site is not as bad as previously thought but it is a wake up call to check ourselves and work a little harder to protect what others have worked so hard to keep.

These guidelines have been in place for the past 15-20 years they are pretty simple to abide to, please do.

PLEASE READ THEM, LEARN THEM and TEACH OTHERS.

Guidelines for the South Wonderland Lake Launch

This is a drop-off-only launch area.

DO NOT PARK ON PINE NEEDLE RD.

Pilots accessing the launch from the west side of the ridge are required to be dropped off with their gear at the pull-out/turnaround area of Pine Needle Road (see map), Illegal parking on Pine Needle Road WILL BE enforced by the Boulder County Sheriff and Open Space and Mountain Parks Rangers.

Please respect the privacy of property owners. Do not drive beyond the pull-out area, as there are no other places to turn around. Do not turn around in private driveways.

If you use uber set a pin location not an address, set the pin at the pull-out/turn around area. If you don't know how to set a pin for a drop off please ask around I'm sure someone will know.

1) HAVE A DRIVER

2) DROP OFF ONLY

3) NO PARKING ON PINE NEEDLE RD.

Follow the OSMP site use requirements listed above and we will be able to keep this site open for generations to come.

Quick question and excuse me if it is a stupid one to ask: would riding a bike to launch with PG gear on your back, locking up the bike on a signpost while flying, and driving back up to collect the bike after flight be acceptable?

I would still suggest riding up your bike to the drop off and turn around point, lock it up there on a tree or sign post and walk the remainder of the trail up to launch. Since it says foot access only riding your bike further up the road to the trail head would be a no no. When you drive your car back up to retrieve your bike you will still have to park your car at the Drop off and Turn around point, Riding your bike up to the trail head or as far as far as the launch won't do you any good since you can't drive up to that point, so probably best to just lock it up at the Drop off point.